CBEFT
Encyclopedia
CBEFT is Radio-Canada's
transmitter serving Franco-Ontarian
s in Windsor
. Previously licensed as a standalone television station
, it is currently a semi-satellite of CBLFT-DT in Toronto
.
in 1976, making it Canada's second-highest-numbered UHF station following the launch of CITY-TV in 1972 on Channel 79
. Originally, it was a full-time satellite of Radio-Canada flagship CBFT in Montreal
.
CBEFT was the first non-English TV station to sign-on in the Detroit-Windsor market — it would be later joined by Spanish-language SIN
affiliate W66BV (now TBN
-owned W47DL-D) in the early-1980s. During that period, and again from 2004 to 2009, the Detroit - Windsor market was the only market in the US or Canada with terrestrial stations in Spanish and French—the Spanish station during the latter period was Univision
affiliate WUDT-CA on channel 23. After WUDT switched to the English-language Daystar Television Network
in August 2009, CBEFT again became the sole terrestrial non-English station in the market.
CBEFT offered the full Radio-Canada line-up, except for some American series; this is because Windsor is reckoned as part of the Detroit market for the purposes of programming rights. Also, most Montreal Expos
baseball games were not seen on CBEFT, as Windsor is part of Detroit Tigers
territory.
CBEFT moved to Channel 54 on October 29, 1982, when TV channels above 69 were removed from the TV spectrum.
From the mid-1980s at the earliest, it was a semi-satellite of CBLFT as part of the Ontario-Ouatouais network. In 1991, as part of cost-cutting measures at the CBC, CBEFT's licence, along with all other Radio-Canada transmitters in Ontario, was merged with that of CBOFT in Ottawa
. However, CBEFT, along with CBLFT's other former repeaters, carried the split-feed newscast for the rest of Ontario that was produced at CBOFT.
On April 28, 2010, the CRTC relicensed CBLFT as a standalone station, which would again produce a separate newscast for the province of Ontario outside of CBOFT's primary market. At the same time, CBEFT was relicensed as a rebroadcaster of CBLFT. CBEFT uses a satellite to retransmit CBLFT, often getting disrupted under sever weather conditions and showing an error message.
On cable, CBEFT can be seen on Cogeco
Windsor channel 12. It is not seen on the Detroit-area systems, such as Comcast
Detroit or Bright House
Livonia. The station broadcasts at 144 kW with a directional antenna, relatively low for a full-powered station on the UHF band. It can be picked up to some degree in the Detroit area, as far west as Washtenaw
and Lenawee
counties and as far south as Sandusky
and Port Clinton
, Ohio.
CBEFT is currently the only major TV analog station available in the Windsor/Detroit area.
requiring the conversion of all television stations in Windsor to digital by August 31, 2011, the CBC originally planned on not converting any non-originating stations in mandatory transition markets to digital, which would force CBEFT to sign off entirely on the date. However, the CBC would convert CBEFT's English language sister station CBET
to digital, as it is an originating station. . Nevertheless, the CBC says it "[hasn't] ruled out" the possibility of requesting an extension of analogue service for cases such as CBEFT. On August 16, 2011, the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating 22 repeaters in mandatory markets, including CBEFT, in analogue until August 31, 2012, in which by then they must either convert to digital or close down. This is pending the corporation's license renewal process, which will include an evaluation of its transition plans.
Even though CBEFT would be allowed to continue analog service, it would still however be forced to move its channel due to the removal of channels 52-69 from the television spectrum. On August 31, 2011, CBEFT moved its analog channel to UHF channel 35. This is not the first time CBEFT has had to move its channelit moved from channel 78 to 54 due to the removal of channels 70 through 83 from the spectrum.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
transmitter serving Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
s in Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
. Previously licensed as a standalone television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
, it is currently a semi-satellite of CBLFT-DT in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
History
The station first aired on Channel 78Channel 78
Channel 78 has been removed from television use in 1983, but was formerly used by television stations in North America which broadcast on UHF frequencies 854-860 MHz. In the United States, channels 70-83 had served primarily as a "translator band" containing repeater transmitters to fill gaps in...
in 1976, making it Canada's second-highest-numbered UHF station following the launch of CITY-TV in 1972 on Channel 79
Channel 79
Channel 79 has been removed from television use in 1983, but was formerly used by several television stations in North America which broadcast on UHF frequencies covering 860-866 MHz:...
. Originally, it was a full-time satellite of Radio-Canada flagship CBFT in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
CBEFT was the first non-English TV station to sign-on in the Detroit-Windsor market — it would be later joined by Spanish-language SIN
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
affiliate W66BV (now TBN
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
-owned W47DL-D) in the early-1980s. During that period, and again from 2004 to 2009, the Detroit - Windsor market was the only market in the US or Canada with terrestrial stations in Spanish and French—the Spanish station during the latter period was Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
affiliate WUDT-CA on channel 23. After WUDT switched to the English-language Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
in August 2009, CBEFT again became the sole terrestrial non-English station in the market.
CBEFT offered the full Radio-Canada line-up, except for some American series; this is because Windsor is reckoned as part of the Detroit market for the purposes of programming rights. Also, most Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
baseball games were not seen on CBEFT, as Windsor is part of Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
territory.
From the mid-1980s at the earliest, it was a semi-satellite of CBLFT as part of the Ontario-Ouatouais network. In 1991, as part of cost-cutting measures at the CBC, CBEFT's licence, along with all other Radio-Canada transmitters in Ontario, was merged with that of CBOFT in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. However, CBEFT, along with CBLFT's other former repeaters, carried the split-feed newscast for the rest of Ontario that was produced at CBOFT.
On April 28, 2010, the CRTC relicensed CBLFT as a standalone station, which would again produce a separate newscast for the province of Ontario outside of CBOFT's primary market. At the same time, CBEFT was relicensed as a rebroadcaster of CBLFT. CBEFT uses a satellite to retransmit CBLFT, often getting disrupted under sever weather conditions and showing an error message.
On cable, CBEFT can be seen on Cogeco
Cogeco
Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian media and communications company. The name is an acronym for Compagnie Générale de Communication .-History:...
Windsor channel 12. It is not seen on the Detroit-area systems, such as Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
Detroit or Bright House
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
Livonia. The station broadcasts at 144 kW with a directional antenna, relatively low for a full-powered station on the UHF band. It can be picked up to some degree in the Detroit area, as far west as Washtenaw
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...
and Lenawee
Lenawee County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 98,890 people, 35,930 households, and 26,049 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 39,769 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...
counties and as far south as Sandusky
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
and Port Clinton
Port Clinton, Ohio
Port Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,056 at the 2010 census. The city has been nicknamed the "Walleye Capital of the World."...
, Ohio.
CBEFT is currently the only major TV analog station available in the Windsor/Detroit area.
Digital television
CBEFT has been allocated its current analog channel number for digital broadcasting. Despite Canada's transition to digital televisionDigital television in Canada
Digital television in Canada is transmitted using the ATSC standards developed for and in use in the United States. Because Canada and the U.S...
requiring the conversion of all television stations in Windsor to digital by August 31, 2011, the CBC originally planned on not converting any non-originating stations in mandatory transition markets to digital, which would force CBEFT to sign off entirely on the date. However, the CBC would convert CBEFT's English language sister station CBET
CBET
CBET, channel 9, is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's owned-and-operated television station in Windsor, Ontario. The station's signal also covers the Detroit, Michigan area across the international border in the United States, and is counted as a Detroit station for the purposes of...
to digital, as it is an originating station. . Nevertheless, the CBC says it "[hasn't] ruled out" the possibility of requesting an extension of analogue service for cases such as CBEFT. On August 16, 2011, the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating 22 repeaters in mandatory markets, including CBEFT, in analogue until August 31, 2012, in which by then they must either convert to digital or close down. This is pending the corporation's license renewal process, which will include an evaluation of its transition plans.
Even though CBEFT would be allowed to continue analog service, it would still however be forced to move its channel due to the removal of channels 52-69 from the television spectrum. On August 31, 2011, CBEFT moved its analog channel to UHF channel 35. This is not the first time CBEFT has had to move its channelit moved from channel 78 to 54 due to the removal of channels 70 through 83 from the spectrum.